Originally Posted by The Batlord

It's called friendzoning because the woman is the one with the power to zone. And while the guy is certainly being an idiot by putting himself in a position where he's emotionally dependent on someone who is never going to reciprocate, they're usually too passive to be inappropriate.

And I don't know that I would say vindictive, but plenty of girls (though certainly not all) are ... selectively oblivious? They're not totally aware that they're leading on someone who's into them, but on some level they know and appreciate the attention.